Renovating existing facilities entails much more than a new coat of paint. Miles Girouard and Amy Ruedinger, RN, discuss the strategies involved in upgrading the physical environment and the care culture at the same time. Read More »
Senior living designers have yet to recognize that boomers entering communities will demand the same resources in senior living just as they have upped the ante by demanding restaurant style dining, fitness centers, spas and coffee shops. Read More »
Infusions of antibodies seem to help those with mild to moderate Alzheimer's to retain cognition and daily functions, according to a study presented at the 2012 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Read More »
LeadingAge has started a financial and legal advice service for its not-for-profit members. Struggling facilities can request an assessment and receive advice from experts for free. Read More »
Bold colors, modern artwork, sleek lines…this isn’t your grandmother’s nursing home. Long-term care owners and administrators have heard it before but it bears repeating. Today’s seniors, more active and engaged in mainstream culture than any other generation before them, appreciate good design. Read More »
State reform to limit medical liability claims and facility-based arbitration agreements can have huge impacts on long-term care’s finances, notes a study by ACHA/NCAL and Aon Global Risk Consulting. Read More »
According to a recent study, one in every six admissions to nursing homes was for individuals who had a history of emphysema or COPD. This puts greater pressure on LTC facilities to gain a stronger understanding of the disease and to meet new demands in terms of assessment and treatment. Read More »
One group cheering the court’s decision is the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA), which maintains that upholding of the healthcare act will result in earlier detection of Alzheimer’s disease—with care thereby starting sooner—while helping millions with more effective and efficient treatment. Read More »
Major efforts are needed to increase the mental health workforce and train them in the mental health and substance abuse issues that relate to seniors, a new Institutes of Medicine report warns. Read More »
A stunning 99 percent of nursing home records examined by the OIG failed to meet one or more of the federal guidelines for assessing and documenting the use of antipsychotic drugs. Read More »
As of July 1, 89 new accountable care organizations (ACOs) began serving 1.2 million people with Medicare in 40 states and Washington, D.C., the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced today. Read More »
While trying to save on prescription costs, seniors in the Medicare Part D doughnut hole are skipping or reducing their maintenance medications for depression, chronic heart failure and diabetes, among other chronic conditions, recent data suggests. Read More »
Innovative planning can allow traditional senior living spaces to be transformed into neighborhoods of shared spaces and private spaces, encouraging interaction and fostering memory care. Architect James Moyer describes the before and after designs. Read More »
High doses of vitamin D play a role in preventing bone fractures, especially in older women, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read More »
The Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and technology company Jvion have developed an online tool to help facilities calculate the financial impacts of migrating to ICD-10. Read More »
Pressure ulcers are painful and dangerous for residents and costly for facilities. Next year, PUs are going to cost facilities even more. Learn how to improve wound care intervention to protect your patients and manage risk. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed policy changes that would increase reimbursement rates for end-stage renal disease services. Performance data collected next year would affect the payment rates starting in 2015. Read More »
Long-Term Living talks with Front Porch CEO Gary Wheeler about helping not-for-profits (NFPs) survive these challenging economic times.People and organizations need to do more with less. For stand-alone NFP organizations, this has become increasingly difficult. Read More »
For most families, entry into a nursing home is like being teleported onto a strange new planet. The arrival is often swift and unanticipated, and the customs are foreign and frequently unnerving. Consider what services you can offer to improve the experience of anxious family members. Read More »
In the aftermath of last week’s 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA), long-term care providers are taking stock of the far-reaching ramifications for an industry in transition. Read More »
Leaders digest: So the ACA stays. What now? Long-Term Living’s editors speak with leaders in the long-term and post-acute care industry the day the Supreme Court decision is announced. Read More »
BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court has decided the Affordable Care Act will stay in place. The majority voted to keep individual mandate and the right for Congress to offer funding for state reform programs. Read More »
Private pay has become the holy grail of long-term care, and a powerful combination of industry leadership and political action is opening up access for the consumer to new funding options. Every owner of a life insurance policy has the legal right to convert their policy to pay for long-term care while still alive—but too few consumers and LTC industry professionals are aware of this fact. Read More »
With the need for states to rein in healthcare budgets, we are seeing a rapid move toward managed long-term care in states across the country. These changes are forcing many LTC providers to adapt to a new healthcare environment. Read More »
Some insurers aren't waiting for the Supreme Court's decision to show how they feel about some of the reforms within the Affordable Care Act. Read More »
Last spring (May 2011), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a report titled, "Medicare Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Claims for Elderly Nursing Home Residents." Here is what medical directors practicing in long-term care had to say about the appropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medications. Read More »
Cutting-edge organizations that are effectively meeting the challenges of caring for an aging population with acquired brain injuries are implementing strategies that promote good health and quality of life by actively engaging both mind and body. Read More »
Solving the problem of hospital readmissions will take much more than follow-up calls at home. Each link in the care chain has quality improvements to make, say health IT experts at the 2012 LTPAC Health IT Summit. Read More »
